#i like bojack as a character. he’s a very well written character. but he’s a horrible person!

[butchweasel]

just got some bojack horseman clips in youtube shorts and people in the comments were woobifying bojack and insulting diane

why r the beloved "morally gray" male characters of fandoms always like this is baby killer john he loves killing babies for fun and the fandom is like omg baby killer johnnn 😍😍😍 but a morally gray female character is like heres a traumatized teen girl thats meant to be deeply flawed and wrong at times but also went thru a lot and is meant to be sympathetic and nuanced and the fandom is like SHE NEEDS TO DIE RIGHT NOWWWW !!!!!!!!

[crooked-wasteland]

I've always seen Helluva boss as a show that try so hard to be something isn't, and after reading your articles about BoJack horseman and how hb directly borrowed some of its ideas . It's started to make sense so here's my take:

Helluva boss can't be BoJack or anti-BoJack , there is room for inspiration sure . But the difference between two shows make it odd whenever someone try to compare them. Since BoJack is story of American man who happened to have a horse head, therefore the protagonist is forced to obey the morality rules that we as audience have . Helluva boss is story of demons live in society that only value violence , the rules of morality is broken in this world so where it makes sense for the show to calls out BoJack's toxic dating patterns, why should i care for blitzø's that man cannonly makes fun of children deaths of cours he's not a good partner. Another thing that BH like other many adults cartoon is critical of American culture (Hollywood culture for BoJack case) and while HB trying to do the same it only water down its world , you can point out to something relatable to our society without loosing the fantasy elements in your world especially if your otherworldly character travel to the human world constantly and see it from stranger point of view, but hb didn't do that it just turned the hell to american , and maybe this is thing bugs only me as non-western . It would be more entertaining if we explore the hellish society as something new and fresh.

(out of topic sorry)

But even if we want BoJack-like show the writer clearly don't know why BoJack works but I don't need to tell you since you already wrote about that, I remember watching a clip of livestream where medrano admit she blind-love her favourite media without critical thinking and I think this is her biggest weakness, she's the kind of person who would see something cool in TV so she applies it to her OCs without a further thinking which explains the directe reference of others show like BH

These are excellent points. There's a saying in writing that goes "Write what you know". The team who wrote Bojack knew the ins and outs of that Hollywood bubble due to professional experiences. And because Bojack was written by a diverse team of creative people, they even addressed how eating meat would work in a universe with sentient animals. They had the experience and knowledge of setting as well as basic life experience to ask obvious questions in the name of world building.

It's why I argue that Medrano appears to be someone with very few life experiences. Not only does her story lack emotional depth, having a shallow well to draw from, but basic rules of world building are neglected in a way that is very obvious due to a lack of human curiosity.

Writing what you know isn't supposed to be limiting. Instead it's supposed to challenge you to ask more questions. Expand what you know to incorporate it into your imagination.

[chaifootsteps]

The funny thing about stolas is that he really is the most real depiction of NPD I’ve seen in a while. Unintentionally very well written. This show like few others ever do, explores the fact that people with NPD can be so socially inept and incapable of change they can ruin their own life and never fully understand why it happened. A stereotype is that NPD patients are always evil abusers but sometimes like with covert narcissism, it’s complicated. Stolas ticks every last box in the covert category.

He’s not outright a villain but is infuriatingly self centred, and destructive. One example is all of his “I” “me” “my” statements in every situation. Fizz is in danger ‘this will be fun (for me!) I love words!” While it was a good gesture to help Asmodeus, he makes things about himself again. And this made Ozzie mad. And in the latest argument he clearly forced himself to try and empathise with someone but gave up right away when it wasn’t going well and went back to the same I/me/my statements. “I have my answer so you needn’t say any more” “I didn’t know you thought so low of me” and to Stella “I want you out..out of my life” “via you have been the one good thing in my life” Even in a desperate situation where someone he undoubtedly loves, but who he hurt with his lies, is leaving him, he physically can’t stop making it about himself because of this disordered way of thinking. And in a way, that is sad.

It really is a disorder and not just villainy because the person with NPD has grandiosity and callousness, that combination prevents them from seeing a problem in their own behaviour until really pushed. (Who does that sound like) So without help, they end up alone and confused/bewildered by why that is. That reaction of blatant frustration from every single character who speaks with him - via, blitz, Asmodeus, (I don’t feel right including stella but that dinner table scene implies she’s angry he ignores her) is so accurate too.

I mean, I’m by no means a Stella fan but after that confrontation in LooLoo land and him screaming his divorce declaration in the circus, he seemed to think they could just ignore everything despite the ongoing affair, and eat dinner together as a family like nothing is wrong in harvest moon. So at that point I understood her being pissed.

They try force everyone into their version of reality, but it’s exhausting and someone incapable of empathy or change without help (seriously why are all these deeply mentally suffering characters not have a therapy arc - Bojack had several. Many failed. But he had several, because he was messy and had to keep trying.) Viv thinks Stolas is Herb, an innocent victim of homophobia, but he’s actually Joseph Sugarman, dangerously callous and terrifying but soft spoken, mixed with Bojack. Sugarman is a brilliant villain imo.

This is an extremely good point. It's a damn shame it's unintentional, because if it weren't, Stolas would at the very least be in the running for one of the best depictions of NPD ever put to fiction.

NPD isn't Magical Evil Abuser disease -- like you said, it's a legitimate disorder, and it's horribly damaging to the person who has it. People with NPD can both feel and crave love the way Stolas loves Via, but healthy relationships require give and take, and giving doesn't come easily to them. Even when Via's leaving him, the highest praise he can give her is that she's been the only good thing in his life.

It's extremely sad, tragic even. If only Viv understood why.

[raguma1504]

Why do you ship BoButter — not hating! I just haven’t seen it as much!

hi! that's alright, i will try to explain my position

how should i put this... i like them as a couple more not because they had a lot of interactions throughout the show, but rather because of their potential. they are my favorite characters - they're both incredibly well-written - and i also like them individually, independently of each other, and how they could grow up being in a relationship is a very interesting topic to me

so here's the reason: they work well together. why? i'm planning to make a post about this one day, so for now i'll try to be brief:

- on a superficial level they differ, but if you look deeper, you realize that they are very similar (both had acting careers, similar coping mechanisms, same age and gender). they would understand one another well, without being completely identical to each other and thus living in a kind of echo chamber (as in the case of todd and pb f. e.)

- at the same time their differences are not as critical as diane and pb had, and if they really tried to understand their partner, they would truly complement, not suppress each other

that's why by the way their relationship is possible only after the end of the series (aus don't count), where both characters have gone through a long path of growth and, finally, are ready to build healthy friendship, which after a while could turn into something more

for instance: bojack would become more independent with mr peanutbutter, as he would have to solve his problems himself because pb, due to his forgetfulness and carelessness, simply would not be able to do it for him, as princess carolyn did; mr peanutbutter, in turn, would not have to suppress the desire to make big gifts since bojack just would not mind this. he also wouldn't finally have a partner who was much younger than him. and so on

- and. imho bojack wouldn't simply be able to build healthy equal relationships with women because of his mommy issues lol. he's too old to completely rebuild his mindset, and well... i can imagine post-canon!bojack being actually happy and not self-destructive only in a relationship with a man or being single at all. but that's just me

and yes, they certainly wouldn't fix each other. i rather see it this way: they go through their personal growth, supporting each other and becoming good friends. in turn, a strong closeness and a huge common history, as well as the growing sympathy in general, contributes to the emergence of romantic feelings and one of them ends up confessing to the other, and that's where they start dating.

i also get that they could just remain friends as well, and that would also be great, but being romantic partners, in my opinion, would further expand their potential and gain personal growth as characters. they have every chance of becoming great partners for each other for the rest of their lives (which is not very long)

so yeah, i myself can't say that there were many interactions between them in the show, but i rather like their potential and the dynamics of their relationship. i hope i answered your question anon!

[f1rewalk3r]

i dont talk about being NPD pretty much ever because why would i lol but i wanted to bring it up specifically in this context:

Jimmy is my favorite character from Mouthwashing.

I don’t want or intend to excuse his actions- his assault of Anya is the literal catalyst for the story- but I don’t believe he’s a “bad person” because I don’t believe in the ontological distinction between “good” and “bad” people. Pulling a page from BoJack Horseman- there are only good and bad actions. And Jimmy makes a lot of really awful decisions! But fuck, I think he is so well written when he makes these bad choices. Again, not attempting to excuse or downplay him raping Anya- I myself have been the victim of some pretty shitty stuff. But I’ve also perpetuated some pretty shitty stuff. So here’s a narcissist’s perspective of a narcissist:

I think it’s possible to recognize and atone for shitty choices. However, it can be difficult, especially for a narcissist, to recognize the consequences of their actions in the immediate context of making them. He crashes the ship because he is faced with the fact that his post as co-pilot will mean nothing after the layoff. Meanwhile, the heroic leader of a crew stranded in space? That’s something. Something that almost certainly will overshadow the inevitability of Anya immediately reporting him the second the cargo run is over, and, better a hero or a castaway then an unemployed rapist, right? He didn’t mean to horrifically maim curly, but hey; he’s captain now! What good luck! And with Curly unable to speak, the entire Responsibility can be placed on him for the crash.

There’s something to be said also for the conversation he and Curly have just before the crash. He tells Curly that he was supposed to be responsible for everything. He was supposed to take care of it. Here’s the thing about narcissists- we’re really good at avoiding responsibility. So his rape of Anya isn’t his fault, not *really*- Curly was supposed to be responsible! But now Jimmy has all the responsibility. So he starts making choices- and they aren’t good ones.

I don’t think he wanted or expected Daisuke to be horribly maimed by the vent- in fact, I would expect a totally delusional mindset that he would totally be fine crawling through the vent to be very in character for Jimmy or any other narcissist. But obviously he won’t do it himself. He doesn’t want to put himself in danger- but very likely, he believes that Daisuke is simply the better choice due to his training.

I don’t think many of Jimmy’s bad actions (that we see over the course of the game) are conscious ones. He’s simply acting in line with his worldview. You see, here’s the thing about narcissism- having low or no empathy kind of sucks, actually! That’s not just me playing the victim (admittedly something narcissists are wont to do) - when you have low empathy, it’s incredibly difficult to believe that other people do. So when he tells Daisuke that Swansea is saving the last pod for himself- that’s not him consciously manipulating Daisuke. It is a very obvious manipulation, but Jimmy genuinely believes that Swansea intends to use the pod for himself- because it’s exactly what he would do if he was in Swansea’s position, and that in of itself is enough for him to vilify Swansea.

Similarly, I don’t think he intended to cause Daisuke suffering by disinfecting him with the mouthwash- we, as the player, remember Anya saying it’s useless as disinfectant- but that’s because it’s been mere hours for us, while for Jimmy, it’s been months. He genuinely believes it will help Daisuke.

We get to see a lot of his own rationalization with his donneresque dinner party and his conversation with Curly- as long as someone survives, he can be a hero, he can gain public recognition and respect- what more could a narcissist want? I mean, I’m a semipro musician- I would fucking know.

When his sanity starts to slip, and he’s attacked by horrific monstrosities - that’s a subconscious manifestation of his guilt. Until the end, he is unable to reflect at all- but that doesn’t stop the subconscious from seeing through the artifice of ego.

To the last moment, his directive is to “take responsibility,” and in his own twisted way, he does! He does in the most selfish way. When he finally recognizes the last step he can take to fix everything, it is the most selfish one of all. It is his last resort- not one he chooses earlier, although he perhaps could have and spared the crew plenty of suffering. I think it’s powerful that his last words are that he can fix everything- because he really could have, if he had just gotten off the Bad Choice road.

This post is far too personal and far too meandering at this point- so I’ll leave it at this. Jimmy is a man who does some truly monstrous, unforgivable things, and I love him. He’s my favorite.

[thyla-scene360]

Thylacine rambles - Talking about Walter Hardy

Alright guys, today I thought it’d be fun to ramble about one of my favorite characters in Spectacular Spider-Man and why I love him so much.

Aka this guy. Walter Hardy, also known as the Cat Burglar.

Despite being a relatively minor character in the show (like…he only appears in two episodes and his total screen-time is under ten minutes), he very quickly became one of my favorites. Why you ask?

Well, it’s because I found him to be one of the most well-written and nuanced characters in the show (and that’s saying something, as I believe that one of Spectacular’s biggest strengths was its use of nuanced characters).

The episode he mainly appears in, Opening Night, is also one of my top five favorite episodes of the series and imo an example of the show’s writing at its strongest. The way it manages to balance the A and B plots using dialogue from ��A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was absolutely brilliant. But what I loved the most about this episode was how it handled the theme of grief and forgiveness - which is where Walter comes in.

I know a lot of people either didn’t like or straight up hated the twist of Black Cat’s father being the burglar who murdered Uncle Ben. Personally I don’t mind it; I honestly think it’s an interesting change of pace and a way to set up some equally interesting conflicts between Cat and Spiderman - especially concerning their differing worldviews. That’s something I’ll elaborate on further in another post, but for now I’m gonna focus on Walter.

I’m gonna cut straight to the chase; I love Walter’s characterization. It would’ve been easy for the writers to make him another dime a dozen, deadbeat prisoner dad who hated Spiderman and only cared about escaping - especially since in this universe he’s Ben’s killer, a character who is already very easy to hate.

But they didn’t. Instead, rather than make him a one dimensional antagonist, they went out of their way to make him an actual character with depth and nuance.

Despite the fact that he killed Ben, Walter isn’t demonized, but his actions aren’t shied away from either. His crime isn’t retconned as being a misunderstanding or an act of self defense. The show makes it very clear that what he did was fueled solely by selfishness, cowardice, and fear. What he did was unforgivable.

And where I think Walter’s characterization really shines is the fact that he accepts full responsibility for what he did. He doesn’t excuse, deny, or rationalize it. He doesn’t self-pity; He understands what he did and actively chooses to accept the consequences. He doesn’t stay behind at the prison out of some selfish want for forgiveness, but because it was the right thing to do.

He expresses genuine remorse and shame for what he did and wants to atone for his crimes. And although Spiderman rightfully doesn’t forgive him, even after he offers to stay behind, Walter doesn’t protest or argue. Rather, he simply says “I understand.”

He knows he’s not owed that forgiveness and he doesn’t expect it. Furthermore, the show doesn’t punish Spiderman for not forgiving him. One could argue that it kinda did via Cat’s hostile response to him, but I saw that more as Cat (who’s already been established as a rather morally grey character) being conflicted and grief-stricken instead of the show telling the audience that Spiderman was wrong to not accept Walter’s apology.

The biggest reason why I love this so much is because of how well the theme of forgiveness is handled in this episode. This show is legitimately one of the only examples of an animated series I can think of that goes out of its way to say “hey, you don’t always have to forgive someone, and you’re not owed forgiveness even if you are genuinely sorry. Sometimes the scars are too deep and painful for an apology to fix.”

The only other show I can think of that had a message similar to that was Bojack Horseman. I find this episode in particular so great because all too often do I see the idea of forgiveness being forced upon the characters; the message that someone should be forgiven just because they said they’re sorry. Never mind the fact that they didn’t do anything to earn it. Not only is that a terrible message, but it’s a potentially dangerous one as well. (looking at you, Raya and the Last Dragon.)

It’s just a breath of fresh air to see a show handle a topic such as this one in a way that’s legitimately well-written for once.

One last thing that I’ll mention about Walter that I love is his characterization as a father. Again, it could’ve been easy to have him be some deadbeat dad, or have him and Felicia’s relationship be strained. But they didn’t do that.

Walter is far from a perfect parent but despite his crimes, he’s shown to be a very loving and caring father who wants his daughter to be safe. He actively expresses concern for her safety when she shows up in his cell and also tries to dissuade her from breaking him out - prioritizing her safety over his own. Even though they butt heads a few times, they’re both shown to very clearly love and care about one another and it’s genuinely very sweet.

Overall, I love this show and how it handles its themes. It’s one of the most well-written cartoons I’ve ever watched. I hope you enjoyed my rambling and I’m curious to hear y’all’s thoughts.

(One last thing. Walter will be appearing in my fic! As I stated above I think he’s a very interesting character and I wanted to explore his characterization further since I think he’s got a lot of potential.)

[lakesparkles]

hai me again! I hope you don't mind me adding on, I'd understand if you choose not to respond, just wanted to give my thoughts-

I first want to say that I relate to the emotional overwhelm of such situations. I'm very sensitive, especially when it feels as if I've been hurtful :( I just recently I got an ask that condescendingly said I was being insensitive about some fandom things (they misunderstood my point so I clarified and it was okay) but I felt that same feeling of rejection. it's like guilt and embarrassment and makes you feel like everyone is mad at you, lol... it always takes me a few days of recovery to feel comfortable posting again

secondly, I want to say that I agree with all your points. I don't know anything about mouthwashing, but it sounds like other people are making their shallow interpretation of it your problem. opening a discussion, as you did, is not an invitation to be harassed or accused of terrible things. you didn't deserve that!

saying that evil/abusive characters can have good qualities, do good things, or be nice, is not at all excusing (or God, forbid, endorsing) their evil/abusive actions. it's actually a grounded and realistic opinion to have. the idea that all abusers are just evil monsters isn't true. in my experience, one of the most dangerous things about abusers is that they can be nice, normal, even good people. anyone is capable of abuse, even good people. even normal people. if you talk to any abuse victim about their abusers, they will say things like, "yes, they were terrible, but they were good sometimes, too, and that's what made it so hard to hate/leave them"

I have watched bojack horseman. bojack is an excellent example of a realistic abuser (if you don't mind me calling him that). because he is written to have good moments, and to have deep and complex feelings, and to be sympathetic, sometimes, too! the things he does to others I would still call abusive, but because he is so complex and multifaceted, people sympathize with him more. he's a very interesting character and, imo, the comparison between him and jimmy is justifiable (from what I know)

(sorry a lot of this is nonsense. tldr, I think you're right, and other people just have poor literacy skills)

salukes!

-🦊

Hello!!! As usual, you don't need to worry at all! I love reading your thoughts, you can always express your thoughts so well!

First things is that YES, this is exactly how it feels! :( I'm also very sensitive with negative opinions towards me. I'm aware this is something about myself that I need to change... But oh man, I wish I knew how to actually do it. I just can't, and not even therapy helped me a bit. I feel so guilty I convince myself everybody - including my friends and mutuals - will start hating me too... Part of me knows it's not true. Part of me knows that people should and will have criticism about my actions. But nothing of it makes this type of situation easier.

Thank you for thinking so, what I was hoping was that I would be able to listen to other people's opinion about both characters, which is a very interesting topic to me. I like to see how bad people are represented on games/shows/movies, even more when Bojack and Jimmy have such different character arcs and are both the protagonists.

And I do think that admitting that abusers can be good people sometimes is a truth most people don't want to admit. But, at the same time, it's something very important to talk about because the same happened to me! (Vent coming, sorry) When I decided to stop talking to my ex, I felt so guilty. Because she treated me in a terrible way but, at the same time, she had so many good moments. She was cool, funny and made me feel very comfortable. There are some conversations between us that I still remember clearly because she inspired me and changed my way to see everything.

But she was still terrible and she still hurt me in many ways, no matter what.

I also wish things were different, but they aren't.

And Bojack is such a good character to show this. I do believe he was abusive many times and being able to relate to him is what makes the show so painful to watch. The problem is that he's so much more complex than Jimmy that people forget how he traumatized many other characters. I think more people should read his crimes on the Villains Wiki to remember Bojack is not a good guy. But well

[tobiasdrake]

As much as I loved DBS: Super Hero, it did also serve as a reminder for why modern Dragon Ball gives Gohan so little to do.

What it boils down to is that Dragon Ball writers seem to have difficulty finding new ways for Gohan to develop or evolve as a fighter. This is because Gohan himself isn't interested in developing or evolving as a fighter.

By contrast to the proactive Goku, Gohan is a reactive character. He doesn't want to be a big martial arts super-warrior. He has no ambition to become Next-Gen Son Goku. That doesn't mean he won't Do The Things. He's been Doing The Things since he was four. But he needs to have a reason. Something he's doing it for.

"To be stronger/better, to push myself, to become more than I am now," is Goku's driving motive. Goku is a martial artist driven to surpass his own limits, and this drives him to keep finding new mountains to climb.

Gohan's driving motive is, "To protect my family from that asshole." He needs a reason. Self-improvement for its own sake (or, as some have offered, "to be strong enough to deal with the next guy") isn't his passion. Plus, he's already one of the strongest people in the entire universe. How much stronger should he reasonably need to be?

There are all kinds of stories you can tell with a reactive character like Gohan. He's basically a superhero archetype. Spider-Man doesn't constantly train to make himself a better fighter with every waking moment. He doesn't need to; His genre isn't one of progressive escalation.

The problem is, Dragon Ball is dedicated to progressive escalation, arguably to its detriment as Modern Dragon Ball is well past the point where escalation no longer holds any weight. The powers of the characters are so abstract by this point that they have to be defined solely in relation to each other. "Bob is STRONGER than Alex." "Yeah, well now we're fighting John, who's way stronger than Bob and Alex combined." "Yeah well Mark is 100x stronger than John!" "Frank could flex Mark into oblivion with his pinky finger."

This isn't a problem for Gohan, so much as it is a problem for the mindset people have when writing for Dragon Ball. Whether it's Toei or Toyotaro or even Toriyama himself, nobody ever knows what to do with Gohan.

Even when Gohan's in the driver's seat, he's being written by writers who don't know how to write the kinds of stories that Gohan, as a protagonist, is suited for. So they always wind up going back and rehashing things from the well of past Gohan things.

Goku gets to move forward and do new things, but Gohan is trapped in an endless cycle of doing the same three things and nothing else.

1 - Piccolo's sacrifice. Piccolo throwing himself in front of an attack for Gohan or maybe Gohan throws himself in front of an attack for Piccolo if we're being spicy today. REMEMBER THAT TIME. DO YOU REMEMBER? 2 - Gohan gets a rage boost or turns Super Saiyan 2, and then things get real. Everyone loved his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. They loved it so much they're still finding excuses to have him turn Super Saiyan 2 for the very first time again. 3 - Gohan has the power within him to win but he can't unleash it so Goku appears out of nowhere to save him and give him a pep talk, and then he gains confidence in himself and becomes strong enough to win.

To my knowledge, I don't think #3 has appeared in DBS as of yet but it was all over post-Cell Games. After everyone went nuts for Father-Son Kamehameha, we had "Goku gives Gohan a pep talk so he can win" as the resolution for both Broly: Second Coming and Bojack. Then in the actual manga, Goku made the save on Gohan during the Super Buu fight and then got sick of having to do this and fired him from protag slot entirely, which is worse.

Most of Super Hero was a lot of fun. But that final fight turning into "Let's literally bring Cell back so that we can do 'Gohan turns Super Saiyan 2 and defeat Cell' again but it's actually Cell again for maximum uncreativity"? I see you, writers. I see your total lack of ideas for this character.

[girljeremystrong]

cat!!!! hi!!!! i want to get my non-reader friend into reading. he probs won't read anything over 150-200 pages so i'm trying to find an entertaining short book. all the short books i love are essays or philosophy or things i think he could like in time but would probably find dry at the start (especially cause he hasn't read anything recreationally for years). so im at a loss and wanted to know if u have any recs for short books that are page-turners/easy to read <3 hope ur having a good day beloved xo

hello my love <3

first of all sorry for replying late but i was sleeping and then i had to go to the BANK but anyway i have compiled a little list of books i loved that are under 200 pages. there are lots of classics that are shorter and i've included them even though i think some of those would be stuff that you or him might have already read!

contemporary fiction

open water by caleb azumah nelson: THIS IS SUCH A GREAT ONE that i can't imagine anyone not enjoying. truly. it's a love story between two black young british people but it's far from a tiktok romance novel. it explores themes of race and masculinity and vulnerability and it's soft but also very real and it's wonderful. honestly if i had to only recommend one it would be this!

small things like these by claire keegan: very good and quietly hopeful story of a man in a little irish town at christmas. everybody was talking about this book last year and with good reason, it's great.

whereabouts by jhumpa lahiri: the story of a woman in the town she lives in and how it can change in a year. this is an introspective one but jhumpa lahiri is a genius so it reads very easily and it's so wonderfully written.

interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri: short stories, mainly dealing with indian characters in the US. they feel absolutely universal while teaching something about culture and belonging. won the pulitzer in 1999.

how not to drown in a glass of water by angie cruz: a woman narrates the story of her life to her counselor who's trying to find her a job. it's funny and hopeful and memorable. the author is so great (she wrote another one called dominicana that is a masterpiece although is longer!)

kim jiyoung, born 1982 by cho nam-joo: the story of a new mum living in korea that explores the estrangement of being a woman and having to give up so much. it's definitely more serious but it's written very well and it doesn't feel heavy at all.

swimming in the dark by tomasz jedrowski: this one is incredible. it's the story of a polish university student who falls in love with another man in the 1980s in an obviously very repressive society. so he's in love but he wants protest and he can't ignore the struggles and the disparity around him. it's very political but also lyrical and tender.

someone who will love you in all your damaged glory by raphael bob-waksberg: okay this breaks 200 pages at 256 pages long. but it's so good. everybody would love this. it's by the creator of bojack horseman if that can be an incentive somehow. it's a collection of stories that are so unconventional and bizarre in the most incredible way. they are funny stories and sweet and absurd and sad. i really loved reading this book.

infinite country by patricia engel: the story of a colombian family dealing with deportation. it's from the pov of elena who is the eldest daughter. it's a beautiful book that deals with very real struggles and it does it beautifully.

classics

recitatif by toni morrison: very short story (about 20 pages) but so clever and so well written of course. it's the story of two women who have known each other since they were children. they lose touch and then they reconnect when they're older. one of them is white and one of them is black, but the author never tells you which is which. so it's a great story about race.

the cossacks by leo tolstoy: the story of a man who loses his fortune and retires to a cossack village. it's very russian... but it's very well written and definitely explores some of the themes that tolstoy will then explore in war and peace like the purpose of life and war and his love of nature.

white nights by fyodor dostoevsky: again very russian. but less than 100 pages long! it's the story of a young man living in st petersburg who one day meets a girl and they become fast friends. they both feel like outcasts, so together they feel like they can belong. it is actually great.

giovanni's room by james baldwin: lots of baldwin's books (both his fiction and non-fiction) are short ones actually. this one is the story of a man in paris who, while waiting for his girlfriend to get there, falls in love with a man. it's an incredible story dense with love and passion and shame and it is wonderful.

the old man and the sea by hemingway: old man tries to catch big fish after not being able to catch any fish for a long time. but also so much more than that and nobody made me read this in school so i only read it at 25 and it blew me away. everybody told me it would be so sad but i think it's actually hopeful and a little bit it is a story about community? and it tells you that there's people waiting for you to come back.

of mice and men by steinbeck: again i read it in my mid twenties and loved it. it's a gut punch. it's about two men clinging together as laborers in california. it deals with what it means to feel powerless in a tyrant world.

franny and zooey by salinger: one of the best books ever i think. franny and zooey are brother and sister and they are two young people experiencing existential doubts. it's a book about family and about growing into adults and about the alienation that comes with that. salinger knows how to write young people in a crisis so well and how to make it engaging and entertaining.

having compiled this list i now see that my tastes definitely are oriented in a certain way but i hope at least one of these can work for your friend. i tried to include all the shorter books that i have read and loved and i think that generally anyone could enjoy them, but you never know!

hope you're having a great day too!!! mwah!!

[dongslinger--420]

Least favorite episode?

There are a few!

S1E03 "Prickly Muffin"

The thing about this episode is that conceptually, it's a really good episode. I love seeing the first explicit instance of BoJack seeing the world as a sitcom, it's one of my favourite aspects of his character. However, it wasn't as well executed as it could have been. I'm not against Sarah Lynn being bratty and melodramatic, per say, but she lacked the nuance that is gained in future episodes. I feel like some of her character history probably wasn't actually developed at this point, most significantly the fact that BoJack is (at least implied? I can't remember) to be the source of her addiction. I think this would've been fixed by having the plot where they have sex (gross) replaced with some scenes from Sarah Lynn's perspective, possibly also moving the scene where she storms out to just before the third act. I do understand that the show was more wacky at this point, however, so it maybe wouldn't have been in keeping with the tone. Also the joke where the makeup artists are doing BoJack's makeup just to for the weekend is genuinely extremely funny, I do enjoy it.

S6E11 "Xerox Of A Xerox"

UGH okok so this is a really difficult one because I LOVE some parts of this episode, namely that the entire thing is BoJack's fault. His downfall is His fault, he never should've taken the second interview, and the fact that he relapses into the fame drug so quickly shows how far he still has to go. That is BEAUTIFULLY written and one of the best parts of the entire show. But the 17 minutes thing overshadows it for me. I've spoken about the 17 minutes thing from here to kingdom come but the bottom line is that they tried so hard to cater to a very specific part of the fandom, spent so much time on that plotline, that they end up losing the point that this episode was supposed to be making. The thing that's so effective about having everything BoJack's done come back to the surface is that we suddenly see that actually, it's so many things. It's not just one thing. It's never just one thing. It's a bunch of little things that gradually make you worse, both externally and internally. The reason why Todd ended his friendship with BoJack wasn't actually really because he had sex with Emily, it's because him having sex with Emily was the straw that broke the camel's back. And this point CANNOT be made with the revelation that BoJack committed manslaughter. You can't have it both ways. It completely ruins an episode that otherwise would've been perfect.

Other than that there are a few episodes that I don't like as much as the rest, Commence Fracking being the weakest of these, but no other offensively bad ones.

[beevean]

So when Shinji mopes around and loses all will to live he's a cringy crybaby

When Guts does pretty much the same thing in the latest chapters he's a tragic figure (which he is of course)

(hah, funnily enough, the quote at the very beginning of the page is about shitting on Shinji)

And not to make it all about NFCV, but I need to put here whay they say about it because it really sums it all:

Hector and Isaac. Isaac is sharp-witted, hypercompetent, and a badass fighter, so despite him being openly evil and seeking to wipe out humanity, he receives a lot of audience praise and sympathy. Hector, on the other hand, is equally sympathetic. As of Season 3, however, Isaac only grows in competence and fandom praise, whereas Hector is manipulated and brutally enslaved by Lenore, with many fans and critics alike dismissing him as incompetent and stupid. Similarly, Lenore and Hector receive this. Lenore is a demure woman who is threatening and competent, effortlessly beating him in a Curb-Stomp Battle fight and stringing him along in her plans. Due to this coolness, many called her a highlight of the season and disliked Hector. This is despite her being a cruel and manipulative woman who openly states she intends to sexually abuse him, though we don't know if she actually went through with it.

(funny to me how this example hasn't been updated since S3. I'm sure they would have sucked Isaac's dick even more. "hypercompetent" call him gary stu because that's what he is)

The openly evil characters get sympathy and praise only because they're "badass fighters" and "competent", while the more morally grey dude, unfairly victimized, is hated for being "incompetent and stupid" - and as I've complained about, it's the reason they briefly "fixed" Hector in S4 by making him all cunning and backstabby even if it was painfully OOC.

And this is what really makes the difference, doesn't it? This sort of shallow coolness that boils down to pure physical strength.

Guts and Shinji both go through hell. They are abused, victimized, ostracized, have serious breakdowns, and yes, they do nearly unforgivable acts because of it - including, in both cases, molesting a girl. But Guts is also a hella cool dude with a sword that can cut down dragons and usually keeps either a cool façade or shows badass destructive rage, which makes the rare moments when he cries hit harder, while Shinji is a much more realistic depiction of a depressed 14 yo teen, and that's not cool to watch I guess. That's not "interesting". He hasn't earned the right to cry and have panic attacks, he hasn't earned the right to be felt sorry for, because well, if you cry too much, no one cares anymore.

I don't want to put either character down. I love Guts because he's fleshed out and relatable beyond his over-the-top badassery, but I also think Shinji is painfully well written, because he is meant to be a very uncomfortable look in the mirror. And I feel the need to defend him, because complaining that Shinji is "a whiny bitch" and he should be "cooler" is... pretty much thinking like Gendo, in a way. You're missing the point of the whole story. It's like saying Bojack Horseman sucks because the protagonist is a jerk who never learns his lesson lol.

[minthe-lover]

Chapter 232 Analysis

I keep liking panels for the complete opposite reason I think rs wants us to. cause holy fuck this panel slaps, it's fucking terrifying. This actually looks like Hades is abducting Persephone and if it was actually written to be that this panel would be great! it isn't perfect.. I hate how bored persephone looks.. which is a problem with basically the first half of the chapter.

She has no emotions in her face.. she doesn't look upset or worried fuck she doesn't even look scared. This is supposed to be this big emotional moment between her, hades and demeter and they don't even say anything to demeter. Like even a sarcastic or sad goodbye... we just get nothing. If any artist want to add some actual emotion onto her face It would make this panel perfect ahuekafh

also the fact that it's reused like four times.. either zoomed in or out. You can see it so badly when it's zoomed out.. cause they didn't really account for the glow at this angle so it looks so awkward.

Now for this weeks discussion on how Demeter is fucking right. Demeter is right! Hades has a history of taking advantage of others while their in pain. Christ even with persephone, she ended up at his house drunk and was clearly extremely emotionally vulnerable and the next morning he tried to have sex with her. He did the same with minthe, you could even say he did the same with hera as it's heavily implied she turned to hades because of her troubled relationship with zeus.

Hades made the choice to propose to Persephone during an emotionally vulnerable time. given how easily they left afterwards it's clear that hades DIDN'T HAVE TO FUCKING PROPOSE. Especially given how persephone made it extremely fucking clear that she wanted to have a longer dating period. All the shit and drama in this whole chapter could have been rightfully avoided if hades just respected persephone wishes with that.

Also again Demeter is right.. because hades choice to propose to Persephone at this time it's extremely fucking likely that the fact demeter was there influenced her answer. Persephone wasn't giving the environment or chance to truly make this decision on her own. of course it was influenced by Demeter and this situation. Acting like it isn't is just.. stupid. Demeter is wrong for pointing out these point, their extremely fucking clear.

Again persephone just looks board and fucking leaves without saying a single thing to her mother. Again it's clear that Demeter is fucking devastated and terrified for her daughter... her story is just so much more emotional and heartbreaking then any sad relationship drama that rs writes for hxp. Rs just keeps making Demeter an objectively more tragic and interesting character then Persephone... the amount of disrespect she gets is just so sad.

Now I don't fully mind a tension release after a heavy moment, but it's just not done well. It's to quick and just doesn't give the problem enough room to breath first. We barely get more of a hand full of panels before persephone is laughing about hades dick being out and we just completely move on.

Good tension release need to let the conflict be it's own thing before letting the characters breath. A good examples are the episodes 12s of bojack horseman, each season ends on a fundamentally positive note. Even after episodes that are some of the more depressing thing you can watch.. the characters are given time to breath, laugh and starts on the next leg of their story. The problem here is that the problem just disappears... The connecting through line is just an eh joke.. it's funny in concept but kinda uncomfortable.. especially when persephone mentions the scared virgins... like people who are very clearly not one you would want your dick out in front of.

Also be greatful I kept my talk of other media I like short... this was like twice as long before ahfuekahke

Now probably the dumbest decision rs has made in a long time is removing persephone green hands. They where a show of her hard work and where at least one physical 'flaw' that she had. They were supposed to be ugly and despite them just looking more just like green gloves most of the time, but it was part of persephone growth and actually made her look different from season 1. Persphone constantly being praised and worshiped for being perfect and having the one thing considered a flaw just be removed cause... it's like demeter is just sad.

Also the missing eyebrow and like fucking blow up doll looking face.. it's just creepy.

Also!! remember that whole shit about how persephone wore white cause purity and demeter.. yeah so it didn't take long for rs to completely fucking forget that. One shes wearing a white scar.. and two shes looking at fucking white wedding dresses. plus small spoilers.. she ends up with a white fucking wedding dress during the actual wedding. It's so fucking clear that was a terrible point and yet rs fails to even try and stand by it.

Also maybe it's just me, but I'm really tired of all the "hehe look this services workers are scared of hades and persephone! how funny! look how terrified they are!" Like there is only so many times I can see this joke before it's just boring and over done. Plus also like is it really a smart idea to draw attention to how much people are terrified of are leads when we're supposed to be routing for them?

uhhh so yeah for the whole xenia source thing... just go read this post by @genericpuff. It makes the point for how this is really dumb way better then I could.

As for the actual plot point.. uhhh it's honestly just more casual sexism from hades. calling demeter 'that women' along with assuming that cause zeus gave permission is all good. Like that is fucked up right? and framing Demeter as bad for being rightfully upset that her daughter is marrying an asshole.

also just.. literally any story besides the hxp one is more interesting, for fuck sake their individual stories are more interesting then any moment they spend together. Like it's such boring romance story that rs is failing to make more interesting... and it sucks cause the story bends to it's will and it draws away from either more interesting romances or just more interesting ideas and characters. Hera is suffering but hades and persephone wedding is more important.. cause yeah..

rs really is just burning down this webtoon.. it sucks and is really just the perfect example of wasted potential.

[sadboytournament]

ROUND THREE

Sarah Lynn: (tw: sexual abuse, sexual harassment, alcohol and drug addiction) Back in the '90s, she was a child star on a very famous TV show, even though she wanted to be an architect. Her mother only cared about making her a star, and her stepfather sexually abused her, so the closest thing she had to a parental figure was her costar BoJack Horseman. He (inadvertently) introduced her to drinking, and told her that the only people who care about celebrities like them are their fans, so they need to give them what they want even if it kills them. She's an alcoholic and drug addict. The only thing she cares about is that people still care about her. She has a self portrait in the style of Millais' Ophelia. Every day she gets fanmail from men telling her they masturbated to her as teenagers. When BoJack asked her to guest star in his new show, she was devastated that he only came to see her for his career and not because he wanted to spend time together.

Reki: (!spoilers!) (CW for suicide, depression, and death for the whole show. These themes are core elements of the story). Reki starts out acting as a cool older sister figure for the other haibane, particularly Rakka (the mc). She's fun but mature, and she does a really great job of taking care of everyone. As the series goes on though, more it's slowly revealed that she's not as put together and confident as she seems. She's actually a deeply insecure, lonely, and traumatized young woman trying her hardest to relieve herself of being "sin-bound." Being sin-bound basically means that a haibane's wings are black instead of gray, and that prevents them from dying and ascending to the next world (it makes more sense in the story, I can't explain it very well). Her acts of kindness are (supposedly) just a façade that she keeps in order to be resolved of this sin, but it goes deeper than that. She is an amazing portrayal of survivor's guilt and the pain of feeling desperately lost, and is such a well written and beautiful character. The whole series is incredible and I really can't do it justice with this very short essay. It's definitely a sad girl show. Perhaps even the most sad girl show of all time. pls pls go watch it if you haven't

[chaifootsteps]

I still think it’s an absolute joke that viv thinks ANY of her fanficy yaoi abuse writing no deeper than a piss puddle on the pavement is comparable to Bojack Horseman at all, and I feel like Stella vs Beatrice is the perfect example of that.

In Bojack, it’s established early on that Beatrice was/is a horrible mother to Bojack, the two best examples imo being her telling Bojack as a child that he ruined her beauty and that he better make up for that sometime soon, and her phone call telling him as an adult that he was born broken. But later on in the show, with the episodes The Old Sugarman Place and especially Time’s Arrow, we learn Beatrice suffered a terrible life too, one might argue even worse than Bojack’s, and that makes us sympathize with her. It’s obviously no excuse for what she’s done, especially since she was still actively making people’s lives worse with what she pulled with Hollyhock, we understand why she became the person she is. Time’s Arrow has such a cathartic and powerful ending, I’m never going to forget Bojack choosing to end the cycle of abuse that plagued his family for decades by giving his mother, with her final semblance of lucidity, by comforting her and making her think of fond memories.

Meanwhile in Helluva Shitshow we know jack and shit about Stella other than “i ENjoY tOrMEntiNG yOu” which is just, such a dogshit line. What were her parents like? What was her childhood like? What does she think about her brother? What is her personal life like outside of her family? What are her accomplishments? Interests? Goals outside of murdering the rapey owl bastard? We’re well into season 2 and we STILL haven’t gotten even ONE interaction between Stella and Octavia, mother and daughter, like are you kidding me? I cannot prepare for Hazbin if it’s supposed to be female focused while THIS is how a female writer writes her female characters, unacceptable is it what it is.

So yea, TLDR Beatrice solos Stella and viv should’ve never written for Helluva, things people are already well aware of. Sorry for the long winded rant but I had to get this off my chest after making an essay in my head about this in the shower. Hope you’re having a good day Chai, I’m now reminded of the absolute banger that is Hi-Fi Rush because of your username, thank you

This, this, this.

Beatrice was a masterpiece of a character. It's established very early on that she's absolutely awful, sometimes comically so and sometimes tragically, and also that she and Butterscotch are both miserable characters in a desperately unhappy marriage, and it just builds and builds from there into some of the most powerful writing on the show.

Stella is a character that's not only paper thin, but Vivzie will mock you on twitter if you like her or even attempt to sympathize with her.

[tsukimefuku]

Hello.... If you don't mind me asking, who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love them...Thanks if you want to answer....

I’d love to answer!!!

Well, since I usually get consumed by the media I’m currently on, I might end up forgetting some couples here and there. I’ll go by order of remembering 😂

SatoSugu (JJK). I simply LOVE when two characters are written in such a complimentary way. Also, it’s worth noting that Gege queer coded most of JJK, so this is one of those instances where the fandom isn’t just shipping “because yes”, it feels like the author truly meant it to be perceived that way. Given that this is a shounen in Shounen Jump, the author couldn’t have put in there a gay relationship, so he made it clear in subtext.

-

RoyRiza (FMAB). These two have occupied my mind for a very long time. FMAB is my all time favorite anime, it is so incredibly well written, has no plot holes, every character matters and plays a part in the story (I’m looking at you with disappointment, gege) - basically, everything is purposeful. And in that regard, we have beautifully crafted relationships. RoyRiza tugs at my heart strings because they are connected in a such deep and intimate level. It’s like, there is romantic attraction, sure, but they bond is so incredibly profound. They know each other in every single way, they’ve shared hardships together, and they’re the most important person in each others lives. I find that to be so beautiful.

—

JamieDani (Haunting of Bly Manor). I love the flanaverse, and mostly, I really like how he always makes sure he includes POCs and queers in all of his original work. Jamie and Dani for me share one of the most realistic and beautiful love blossoming story between two people that met by chance. One thing I specially like is that homophobia and lack of rights for queer people is not completely forgotten, but it is NOT the main point of it. Their love and unfathomable dedication to each other is. And I’m a sucker for doomed-by-narrative couples, and how they decide to be together anyway, because their love is more important to them than the sure sad ending to their tale.

—

Now I won’t specify exactly what I like (or I’ll be here for hours on end):

Olivia and Hugh (Haunting of Hill House)

Jim and Pam (The Office)

Hannibal and Will (Hannibal)

NobaMaki (JJK)

ShokoHime (JJK)

Retsuko and Tadano (Aggretsuko)

Princess Carolyn and Judah (Bojack Horseman)

Eleanor and Chidi (The Good Place)

Vi and Caitlyn (Arcane)

Wednesday and Enid (Wednesday)

Knives Chau and Kim Pine (Scott Pilgrim)

These were the ones I just remembered :)

[showtoonzfan]

I keep bringing up Beatrice from Bojack Horseman and how I wish Stella was more like her, but another example of a well written bad character who was expanded upon and written VERY interestingly, was Ton from the anime Aggretsuko. Ton was at first introduced as the rough, sexist and misogynistic cruel boss of an accounting department that Retsuko worked at, being a HUGE obstacle for her. He seemingly had no morals whatsoever, and she had to learn to stand up for herself and not take his crap, but what I love that the series did was humanize him more (WITHOUT RETCONNING HIM BTW) and showing his deeper outside perspectives. Like I said, at first he was very one note, mainly in season one, but as time went on, it was clear he had more layers to him. There were scenes where Retsuko herself had to learn that he wasn’t just black and white, and while his behavior obviously wasn’t excusable at all, the show did eventually show us through some good dialogue on why he acts the way he acts, and even show that his age and even sour viewpoint on todays generation could actually make him wise for the better, giving Retsuko herself genuinely good life advice that surprised her from time to time. It’s more of a moral way where you could UNDERSTAND where the character is coming from and why they’re like that, even if they don’t deserve sympathy, or aren’t excused for what they did. It even got to the point where I enjoyed watching him, and even felt freaking sympathy for him because I KNEW people like him. Not sexist, but…rough around the edges. A person who while heavily flawed, was still a person deep down. I personally think YouTuber “Hiding in Public”- described his character perfectly in his season 4 of Aggretsuko review:

With that said, Ton is honestly just another perfect example of a character that is bad, but written in an interesting way, regardless if you like him or not. Aggretsuko is one of my favorite adult animated shows, and while I definitely think it’s flawed in some areas, it’s overall a very good show with the perspective of adulthood and the struggles that come with it, I would definitely recommend it if you’re into anime.